Cranberries' Dolores O'Riordan Found Dead In London Hotel

The Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan, was found dead at the London Hilton on Park Lane.

The musician was in the capital for a recording session when she died suddenly at the age of 46.

Metropolitan Police were called to the hotel at 9am on Monday and at this early stage, are treating the death as unexplained.

A spokeswoman for the hotel said: "It is with deep regret that we can confirm a guest sadly passed away at the hotel on Monday 15th January.

"We offer our sincere condolences to their family at this difficult time.

"Team members acted swiftly to alert the Metropolitan Police and we are co-operating fully with their investigation."

The news of O'Riordan's death was announced by her publicist.

The Irish singer, from Limerick, enjoyed success with the multi-platinum band in the 1990s with hit singles including Linger and Zombie.

In May 2017, The Cranberries cancelled a string of shows after O'Riordan was instructed by her doctors to stop working for a month for medical reasons associated with a back problem.

A further set of shows in North America, due to take place in September and October, were cancelled in July.

On December 20, O'Riordan tweeted from the band's official account, writing: "Hi All, Dolores here. Feeling good! I did my first bit of gigging in months at the weekend, performed a few songs at the Billboard annual staff holiday party in New York with the house band.

"Really enjoyed it! Happy Christmas to all our fans!! Xo"

In February 2016, O'Riordan said she would use "music, dancing and performing to improve her mental health" after avoiding a criminal conviction for assault at an airport.

She was ordered to pay 6000 euros to charity for headbutting, kicking, hitting and spitting on police officers following an alleged air rage incident.

The singer had previously admitted three assaults and obstructing a police officer after being taken off an Aer Lingus flight from New York's JFK to Ireland on November 10, 2014.

Medical reports produced for the trial revealed she had been suffering from mania, mental illness and severely impaired judgment at the time of the incident, and that she remembered nothing about it.

O'Riordan was a mother of three: son Taylor and daughters Molly and Dakota. She split from her husband of 20 years, the former tour manager of Duran Duran, Don Burton, in 2014.

Duran Duran wrote on Twitter: "We are crushed to hear the news about the passing of Dolores O'Riordan. Our thoughts go out to her family at this terrible time."

O'Riordan, from Friarstown, Kilmallock, Co Limerick, was renowned for her distinctive singing voice.

She became a multi-award winning musician after becoming lead singer of the band when she was just 18 and went on to sell 40 million records.